Puerto Rico coronavirus statistics for January 4

According to the Puerto Rico Health Department, 135,742 people are believed to have been infected with COVID-19, an increase of 7,038 since December 28. This points to a noticeable decrease in the rate of new cases, as the increase between December 21 and December 28 was 9,532. The death toll is currently 1,555 with 99 of those having occurred during the last week. Comparatively, 74 people died from the virus between December 21 and December 28.

December was the deadliest month for COVID in Puerto Rico, with a recorded 352 deaths. The Island passed the 1,500-death mark on December 31. Puerto Rico reached the 100,000-case mark on Sunday, December 6. It is currently impossible to know the effects the holidays are having on new cases. 

Beginning on November 7, the Health Department changed the way it recorded cases, splitting them between confirmed cases (as determined by molecular diagnostic testing), probable cases (as determined by antigen testing) and suspicious cases (as determined by serological, non-diagnostic testing). Viewed through that prism, Puerto Rico has had 73,811 confirmed cases, 4,893 probable cases, and 57,038 suspicious cases, since the virus arrived on the Island.

There are currently 421 people hospitalized due to COVID, a decrease of 26 since last week. 

While distribution of the COVID vaccine to healthcare workers continues, the process has been far from smooth. The National Guard had originally indicated that it would set up a system for taking appointments. However, so far, vaccinations have largely taken place on a first-come, first-served basis, causing regional centers to be swamped by long lines. While the National Guard hopes to have eleven regional distribution centers up and running by mid-January, by the end of the year it had opened only two, in San Juan and Caguas. The University of Puerto Rico’s Medical Sciences Precinct and Walgreens, have also begun distributing the vaccine.

Pedro Pierluisi sworn in as Puerto Rico’s 12^th elected governor

In a ceremony that took place largely without incident,Pedro Pierluisi was sworn in as Puerto Rico’s latest governor on Saturday, January 2. The event mostly adhered to social distancing protocols up until the end, when the nearly 400 attendees congregated on the platform. 

Not long after becoming governor, Pierluisi issued six executive orders. The first, OE 2021-01, calls on the Puerto Rico Health Department to design and execute strategies for mass COVID-19 testing and vaccine distribution. The second, OE 2021-02, calls on Puerto Rico’s law enforcement agencies to establish agreements with federal agencies in order to combat corruption. OE 2021-03 declares a state of fiscal emergency and orders all government agencies to implement cost-control measures. 

Additionally, the new Pierluisi Administration has signed an agreement providing people with mixed incomes—i.e., people whose income is derived from a combination of a salary and self-employment—an additional $100 per week in unemployment benefits. This new benefit is expected to apply to some 60,000 people. 

Teachers’ Association raises objections regarding new attendance-recording system

A new attendance-recording system for educators in Puerto Rico, is now under fire from teachers who claim that the new Policy for Attendance and Punctuality has resulted in improper discounts to paychecks.  According to the Fiscal Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico (FOMB), the previous system had resulted in $84.2 million in excessive payments. Teachers’ Association president, Víctor Bonilla Sánchez, has called on the Board to stop implementation of the new policy.  Among the complaints about the new system are its inability to respond to large volumes of users, causing it to fail to process attempts to register worked hours as well as the fact that the system does not acknowledge teachers working non-standard work hours. Critics had raised concerns about the new platform prior to its implementation in November.

Proposed solutions to coastal erosion in San Juan and Rincón raise concerns

Preliminary proposals by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to deal with coastal erosion in San Juan and Rincón have raised concerns among environmentalists and educators. The proposal by USACE would combat erosion via “beach nourishment”—adding sand to beaches—creating breakwaters, and installing stone revetments; it is this last proposal that has been subject to the heaviest criticism, including claims that enacting this plan would effectively destroy Puerto Rico’s beaches. 

“Access to beaches would be eliminated, and with it, the recreational and economic alternatives Rincón greatly depends on,” said Ruperto Chaparro, director of the University of Puerto Rico’s Sea Grant Program. “Everything would be lost because there wouldn’t be sand. A beach without sand is not a beach.”